The Secondary: Safeties and Cornerbacks

We have already learned about the defensive players that battle the offense at or near the line of scrimmage (LOS):  the linebackers and defensive linemen.  Today’s lesson features those players who make up the last line of defense before the end zone:  the safeties and cornerbacks, known collectively as the secondary.

SUMMARY

·         Safeties and cornerbacks make up the secondary

·         The secondary has primary responsibility for defending pass plays but must also recognize and defend against running plays

·         The secondary can disrupt passes by blocking receivers, preventing catches and intercepting passes

·         Players in the secondary can also be used to rush the quarterback

·         These players are most likely to commit pass interference, illegal use of hands and defensive holding penalties

TERMS TO KNOW AND LOVE:  safety, cornerback, strong safety, weak safety, man-to-man defense, zone defense, interception, YAC, sack and blitz

GOALS OF THE SECONDARY

As we have discussed, a team’s defense aims to:  prevent the offense from scoring; cause turnovers; and score points for its own team.  The players on the secondary support these goals by:  (1) preventing offensive players from catching passes from their quarterback; (2) intercepting those passes; and (3) preventing a runner from catching a pass in the end zone or running into the end zone after catching a pass.

POSITIONS

Cornerbacks: Before the play starts, the cornerbacks (or “corners”) usually line up opposite the offense’s receivers, within a few yards of the LOS.  Under the rules, defensive players can impede an offensive player’s ability to move down the field within 5 yards of the LOS.  However, once a receiver has advanced five yards past the LOS, a defensive player is no longer allowed to keep him from running downfield.  Therefore, the corners will meet the receivers as they cross the LOS and attempt to keep them from running those first five yards by bumping or pushing them. 

Safeties:  A team might have two different types of safeties on the field at once:  a “strong safety” and a “weak safety.”  These terms are not judgments on each player’s strength or talent.  A strong safety is generally responsible for the “strong side” of the offensive formation.  For example, an offense might have a tight end and two receivers lined up to the quarterback’s right-hand side, but only one or two receivers on his left-hand side.  The strong safety, then, will be responsible for defending plays that develop on that player-heavy side of the field (which in this case is his left, since he is facing the offense).  The weak safety will take care of the other side of the offense.

RESPONSIBILITIES

When the ball is snapped, the corners will bump, or block, the receivers at the LOS (within that 5-yard zone), then run with the receivers if they continue down the field.  On a running play, the receivers become blockers for the runner, so the corners attempt to fight off the receivers’ blocks so they can pursue and tackle the runner.  Once a run play is recognized, the safeties will also converge on the runner to tackle him.

On a passing play, the secondary tries to either keep the receivers from catching the ball or will try to catch, or intercept, the pass themselves.  Generally, the secondary has two ways to do this:  (1) each player in the secondary is assigned a specific offensive player to cover, called “man-to-man defense”; or (2) each player in the secondary is assigned an area of the field to cover, called “zone defense.”  In zone defense, once a player runs out of your zone, another player on the secondary is responsible for that receiver.  There are many variations on both types of defense, but we’ll leave these for another time.

To keep a receiver from catching the ball, the defender can try to prevent the receiver from running his designated route, thus leaving the quarterback without that target.  He can also be so close to the receiver physically that the quarterback will throw the ball to a different receiver so the pass isn’t intercepted.  If the quarterback does throw the ball to his receiver, the defender can knock the ball away as it comes to the receiver (called “breaking up the pass”).

The defensive player can get an interception by either catching the ball as it comes to his receiver, or he can “break on the ball,” and run to a different spot on the field where he thinks the pass is going.  Of course, he had better be right about where the ball is going because he runs the risk of his receiver catching the ball and running free to the end zone.

If a receiver catches a pass, the corners and safeties both want to keep the yards the runner gains after the catch (called “Yards After Catch” or “YAC”) to a minimum.  Therefore, they work together to tackle the receiver as soon as possible.

Finally, one or more members of the secondary may be called upon to rush the quarterback on a given play.  This is either intended to tackle the quarterback behind the LOS for a loss of yards (called a “sack”), or to disrupt the quarterback so he is unable to complete a pass.  The use of a player from the secondary in this capacity is one form of “blitz” play.  In general terms, a “blitz” is a play in which one or more players that are usually assigned to defend the run or pass (like a linebacker, safety or corner) is committed to rushing through the offensive line to rush the quarterback.  Blitzes come in different formations and are used in a variety of circumstances, so they merit a post of their own.

As you can see, the secondary has several jobs that they must be able to perform on any given play. Therefore, as a general rule, safeties and corners are the most athletic players on a team's defense; perhaps on the entire team.  This may be why these players in particular tend to be more arrogant and outspoken.  Some corners are so successful at dominating receivers that quarterbacks avoid targeting the receivers they are covering.  A great example of one of these so-called "shut down corners" was "Neon" Deion Sanders, a.k.a. "Prime Time" (both nicknames self-given), an incredibly talented cornerback who played for several NFL teams, most notably for the Dallas Cowboys.  Though he is known for his talent as a cornerback, he played other positions including receiver and kick returner.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011, the first year he was eligible for that honor.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed in the preseason, players in the secondary run the risk of committing a variety of penalties in their defense of their end zone, which can be very costly for their team.  Such penalties include pass interference, illegal use of the hands and defensive holding.  Stay tuned to this blog for a full discussion of these and other exciting infractions.

Turnovers: Interceptions and Fumbles

If the word “turnover” only calls to mind fruity pastries, then this post is for you.  Today we explore the ways that a team accidentally loses possession of the ball.

A turnover is when the team with the ball loses possession of the ball to the other team.  There are two types of turnovers:  the interception and the fumble.  Notice that I didn’t say “when the offense loses possession of the ball to the defense.”  There are two reasons for this:  (1) possession can occur during a special teams play when the teams are the “receiving” and “kicking” teams; and (2) there can be multiple turnovers on the same play, so that the offense initially loses the ball but then a scene from Keystone Kops ensues and the defense loses it after gaining possession!  What fun!

INTERCEPTIONS

An interception occurs when a defensive player catches a pass that was meant to be caught by a player on the offense.  There is usually not much dispute over whether an interception has occurred, unless there is a question of whether the defensive player actually caught the ball.  However, there may be a question of whether the defensive player committed a pass interference penalty in the process of catching the ball.*  As you learned in my post on challenges, a judgment by the officials over whether a penalty such as pass interference occurred is not reviewable.

One quirk on interceptions:  if both the offensive and defensive player come down with their hands on the ball so that it looks like they both have possession, the offense keeps possession of the ball at the spot where the ball was caught.  In other words, to borrow a phrase from baseball, “the tie goes to the runner.”

FUMBLES

Once a play has begun, the player that holds the ball is called the runner.  The runner can be one of three people:  (1) the quarterback, until he hands off, or throws the ball to, another player, or if he is keeping it and running down the field himself; (2) the player, usually the running back, that the quarterback hands the ball to; or (3) the player, a wide receiver or tight end, to whom the quarterback throws the ball.

A fumble occurs when the runner drops the ball before he is tackled. **  Any player can try to get the ball by diving on it or picking it up.  A fumble is “lost” if a defensive player gains control of the ball, thus earning possession for his team.  A fumble is “recovered” if a player on offense, either the runner or another player, gains control of the ball, retaining possession for his team.

Sound simple, right?  It usually is.  However, a couple of rules make the issue more complicated.  Under the rules, a runner is tackled or “down” when one or both of his knees touches the ground and he had been touched by a defensive player (in the NFL, if a player stumbles on his own, he can get back up and keep running; this is not the case in college).  Fumbles are often challenged or reviewed when there is a question of whether the runner was down before the lost the football.  If he lost the football after one of his knees hits the ground, there is no fumble. 

Another rule you will hear often is that the ground cannot cause a fumble.  It’s hard to explain what this means; it’s one of those you’ll-know-it-when-you-see-it situations.  Generally, though, if a runner is being brought down, or has fallen, there is no fumble if he held onto the ball and it is only from hitting the ground that the ball came loose and out of the player’s grip.  This is also often the subject of review.

*The standards for a catch and pass interference are the same for both the offense and the defense, and will be explained in a later post.

**I should distinguish a “fumble” from a “muff.”  A muff occurs when a player unsuccessfully tries to get possession of a loose ball.  Therefore, the player hasn’t even had the ball yet.